Happy Thanksgiving – 2021!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I feel like I’m coming skidding into Thanksgiving week with my hair on fire.

Do you know the feeling?
I feel like I’ve been driving for so many weeks, white-knuckled, pedal to the floor, smoke billowing out behind my tires – desperate for the finish line, squinting thru the smog to see it – and then BOOM. I made it. Race over.

That’s the strange part though: my heart is still pounding, I’m still staring at everything with dilated pupils & wide eyes, jumping at every tiny speck of sound – totally on edge.
Did I actually finish everything?
Did I shoot every session I was contracted to shoot?
Did I edit & deliver everything?
There’s got to be something missing!

And so, here I am: feeling like I kind of look like Cruella de Vil at the end of 101 Dalmations (you know, when she drives off the road & crashes her car).

But you know what? That was how I was feeling coming into Thanksgiving week.
Thankfully, the panic has worn off a bit, the heart palpitations have disappeared, my pupils have regained their normal look.
And now, something new sets in: exhaustion.

But, it’s the sweet kind of exhaustion. It’s the exhaustion one feels at the end of a successful marathon (wait, who am I kidding? I’ve never run a marathon & never plan to – I hate running – but I’ve seen a lot of movies).
And so, I look back over the past few weeks of (manic) mania that “autumn” as a photographer always is, and look back to the weeks before that of sickness (we went thru a solid 8 weeks of sickness in our house), and look back to the weeks before that of wonderful summertime fun, and look back to the weeks before that of our amazing vacation to Florida, and look back to the weeks before that of sweet rest.
And that – is what I know is on the horizon: my season of rest.

Because, if I’ve learned anything, it’s that life comes in seasons. Just like my business flows in seasons. And as we enter into the season of the holidays & the season of thankfulness & gratefulness & family – my heart is full.

I’m so thankful to come sliding into the finish line with my hair on fire – because you know what? That means I have an amazing business that I work hard in, that I have incredible clients who trust me, and that at the end of the day my business is incredibly rewarding because of what I’m creating: memories & legacies.
I am so blessed.

I’m so thankful that I have my amazing husband on my team – who is constantly cheering me on, willing to jump in at any given moment & help out, who does the dishes, takes the garbage out, and stands & folds laundry with me without being asked. Who works incredibly hard for his family & toward his own dreams (which he saw tremendous growth in this year!)
I am so blessed.

I’m so thankful that our house is not just Derrick & I, or even Derrick & I & Abby, but Derrick & I & Abby & Braelynn & Leander. My babies are my favorite people on the whole planet. They are constantly smiling, constantly talking my ear off, constantly curious, constantly pulling me away from my computer, constantly bringing me back to reality, constantly making me aware of my own flaws, constantly making me want to be a better human being. They are my little up-before-the-sun lightning bugs & I adore them.
I am so blessed.

And so, my hair might still be smoking a little bit – but here we are.
Thanksgiving.
And my heart is full to the brim with gratefulness & thankfulness (and excitement at the prospect & invitation to enter into a season of rest).

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And, because what is a post without photos? Here are a few of the family photos that my sister (and favorite photographer) Ellen took of us a few weeks ago (I’m obsessed with them!)

If you’d like to take a trip down memory lane, check out the last few year’s Thanksgiving posts where I highlight our family’s photos that Ellen has taken for us (maybe grab some tissues first – how are my babies growing so fast?!)
2020’s post: https://www.karaabbey.com/happy-thanksgiving-2020/
2019’s post: https://www.karaabbey.com/happy-thanksgiving-2019/
2018’s post: https://www.karaabbey.com/happy-thanksgiving-2018/
2017’s post: https://www.karaabbey.com/happy-thanksgiving-2017/
And 2016’s post: https://www.karaabbey.com/happy-thanksgiving-2016/

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!